Markets: FTSE 100 ends the week on a low note

FTSE 100 down 1.3% to 6,241
Gold down 0.11% to $1,291.55/oz
£/$ 1.4673

FTSE 100

In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 4,442, and the German Xetra Dax gained 0.8% to 10,123.

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In the US yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 17,891, the S&P 500 added 0.8% to 2,081, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% to 4,817.

Overnight in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 3.1% to 16,147, and the broader Topix index was 3% lower at 1,299. And in China, the CSI 300 rose 1.8% to 3,213 and the Shanghai Composite added 1.9% to 2,992.

Brent spot was trading at $46.33 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $45.26. Spot gold was trading at $1,301 an ounce, silver was at $17.65 and platinum was at $1,087.

In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.4632 and against the euro at 1.2849. The dollar was trading at 0.8781 against the euro and 107.12 against the Japanese yen.

And today, HSBC reported a steep fall in first-quarter profits. Statutory pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of March fell by 18% to £2.9bn, with the bank citing "challenging market conditions" and "extreme levels of volatility" in the markets. Revenue fell by 4% to £13.9bn.

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